GameThread: Rutgers vs. Houston

Rutgers travels to Houston to start a 2 game road trip in the state that's bigger. Coming off a nice win against UCF, the Scarlet Knights need to build off that momentum. The AAC is wide open in the middle right now, and Rutgers can shoot to stay out of the bottom four if they keep improving.

So, here are the keys:

--Control Tempo: Gary Waters always used to talk about this when bringing his team on the road. Rutgers needs to dictate pace, run their sets and get out on the fast break when possible. Keep Houston on their heels. Houston is coming off a big time loss to Louisville and the Cougars will probably be peeved. But if Rutgers can get hot early, it might shake the opposition's confidence.

--Don't Foul: Rutgers has been fouling a lot, and Eddie Jordan has been trying to address it in practice. If Rutgers can control their foul problems, they should be in pretty good shape.

--Continue the Solid Defense: Listen, this Rutgers team isn't going to completely shut anyone down, but they have been playing solid defense for the tempo they want to play. It has to keep up. Again, this is all about keeping Houston frustrated.

This thread will also serve as the GameThread, so if you're watching CBS Sports Network at 1, talk about the game here.